Hawaii was a sovereign constitutional monarchy until this government was overthrown in January 1893, but many of its laws were already modeled after those of the United States, including (for example) registering dogs and issuing metal tags for them since the 1870s. The so-called Republic of Hawaii which replaced the previous government was annexed as a Territory by the United States in August 1898, and the first automobiles to be shipped to the Hawaiian Islands arrived in 1899. Each of Hawaii's four counties registered vehicles completely autonomously starting with the City & County of Honolulu in 1906, and license plates were homemade / owner-provided. The first government-issued plates were used by both Honolulu and the County of Hawaii in 1915. Maui County first issued plates in 1919,
